Cops and Robbers
by w3llthatdidntwork
Summary: The air was cold as winter engulfed a town forgotten somewhere along Route 66. Shaw leaned back in the driver's side seat of her police car. She went by the name Officer Shaw when in uniform. This whole place was boring, nothing happened to get her adrenaline going, until a mysterious woman named Root caught Shaw's attention. This story was made for the 2018 Shoot Secret Santa.


**Cops and Robbers**

It was dark and cold as winter engulfed the town forgotten somewhere along Route 66. Shaw opened up a package of disposable hand warmers, placing one into each glove. Enjoying the warmth, she leaned back in the driver's side seat of her police car. She went by the name Officer Shaw when in uniform.

These last few months had been dull. Here she was, age 31, retired military without a clue what to do next in her life. She took this job because she didn't want to be stuck behind a desk. Only six months into the job and she wished she would have researched the town before taking the assignment.

This whole place was boring, nothing ever happened to get her adrenaline going. Occasionally, Shaw was lucky to catch a few speeding tickets but that was it. This place had no action.

Her watch beeped at 11pm and she was now officially off. Cole was going to take her place patrolling the streets tonight. It was a slow night and she counted vehicles pass her in the last hour. No one was speeding and her radio had been completely silent the entire time she was out on the street. Three of the vehicles she passed were semi trucks and two were old clunkers that looked like they couldn't get past the speed limit if you floored the gas pedal. She started her own car and drove off.

With her old job and her old life behind her, she was bored. Shaw thought police life would be close to what she had in the military but she was dead wrong. In this town, everybody knew everybody. No murders, no robberies, voted the safest city in the southwest. Her most exciting week was when I cow got out from one of the local farms and started walking in the street. The locals called her to help bring the cow back.

Shaw made it to her apartment, closed the door, and stripped off her police uniform, tossing it on a nearby chair. Walking to her bedroom, she opened her closet and pulled out a tight black dress. She slipped it on and picked out black heels to go with it.

With the boring day she had, Shaw was intent on doing something fun tonight. She pulled down her hair, fixed some lipstick, and exited her apartment building.

The music drummed in Shaw's ears and she tapped her finger to the beat. She scanned the crowd of guests. It had been two hours since she pulled off her police uniform. Now, she was at a club outside the city limits. No one from work ever frequented here. That was something she made sure of.

For the past three months Shaw had been visiting this spot to blow off some steam. Sometimes she'd just drink, sometimes she'd just dance, but other times she'd find someone among the crowd and find a cheap motel. It was a mediocre existence Shaw thought and far from her dream of being a doctor or her time deployed in far off lands in the military.

"Hey, sweetie," A woman's voice said over the sound of the music.

The voice brought Shaw out of her thoughts. She turned around and came face to face with an attractive brunette in a blue dress.

"You look lonely standing there all by yourself, mind if I join you?" the woman purred in Shaw's ear to be heard over the loud music. She was standing dangerously close.

Shaw hadn't seen her here before, she was already familiar with all the regulars and she would have remembered a pretty face. This woman was either from out of town or just moved here.

"Be my guest," Shaw said, and gave the woman a once over. The brunette noticed and gave Shaw a grin once their eyes met again. Shaw smiled back, noting that the woman seemed to be into it. The woman was hot, her dress plunged down her chest and Shaw wondered how 'into it' she really was. If Shaw played her cards right, she would be lucky enough to find out later.

"Care to dance?" The woman held out her hand, motioning to the packed dance floor with a slight tilt of her head.

"Sure." Shaw took her hand and let the woman lead her into the crowd.

The music was fast and the woman wasn't shy. She had brought Shaw into the middle of the crowd. They didn't have a choice, they had to dance close because the crowd around them was pushing them together. The woman didn't seem to mind, it was clear that she was interested in Shaw.

It usually took some time to get the feel of another person and what they wanted out of the night but it was completely obvious what this woman wanted. It was clear that the woman was attracted to her.

"A little forward, aren't you?" Shaw said.

"Is that a problem?"

"Not all all." The music slowed down enough for them to catch their breath. The woman grabbed Shaw by the hand and pulled her out of the crowd and to the bar.

"Care for anything to drink?" The woman asked Shaw.

"I'll take a Corona."

"Ok, a Corona and a water," The woman said to the bartender over the wooden table.

Shaw gave the woman another once over while she wasn't looking. She looked super attractive but this location didn't seem to be her scene. She seemed out of place but Shaw pushed that feeling to the back of her mind as the woman handed her the Corona.

"My name is Root by the way," The woman said as she casually leaned on the bar. It was a strange name but Shaw didn't question it. She wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the woman's name at all.

There was only one thing Shaw wanted from this encounter tonight. Names were of no interest to her. They were probably of no interest to Root either by the way she was looking at her.

"I'm Sameen," Shaw said, not in the mood to make up a false name tonight. She had never seen Root here before and she'd probably never see her again. Root was too forward and too out of place.

"That's a pretty name." Root smiled. She was still leaning casually on the bar with her free hand resting on the wooden table. Her eyes had this mischievous twinkle behind them, it was almost as if they were daring Shaw to do something reckless.

Placing her beer on the table, Shaw placed her hand on Root's free hand, taking Root's glass of water with the other. Root's hand felt warm under her's and she felt Root flip her hand palm up. Long fingers ran down to Shaw's wrist. There was no question that Root wanted something more out of this encounter.

"Do you always take things that aren't yours?" Root said and stood up straight, taking the water back from Shaw, she was standing inches away from Shaw's face now, challenging her.

"Only if it interests me," Shaw said smiling, biting her lip to get the point across, "want to get out of here?" She could feel eyes starting to latch onto them from other partygoers but she was more interested in Root and the intensity of her stare.

"Are you asking me to sleep with you?"

"What else could, 'Want to get out here' mean?"

"I know, I just want you to say it," Root continued to play with Shaw's hand, rubbing her fingers down Shaw's palm and placing her hand on top, "Want to start again, sweetie?"

"Ok, do you want to sleep with me?"

"Yes." Root smiled. Shaw was definitely looking forward to this. She had never met anyone so confident. Root was going to test her the whole way and she was up for the challenge. Tonight, Root was a welcome distraction from her boring life.

The next day Shaw woke up suddenly, the light was filtering through the windows of the motel room. She moved to cover her eyes from the unwelcomed light with her pillow when she finally remembered that she had brought someone to the room. Whipping the pillow off her face, Shaw looked to her side. The bed was empty beside her.

Flashes of the past few hours started to play back in her head from last night. She remembered being in her police car, changing, and going out. Shaw remembered the beautiful brunette from the bar. Root. The woman with the mischievous smile and a sense of danger in her every move.

Getting up, Shaw placed her bare feet on the carpet and picked up her dress from the floor. There was no evidence that Root had been in the room. She didn't leave a trace. It wasn't like Shaw was expecting anything because she never left her number either. It was unusual for her to be the one left in the bed because Shaw was normally the one to cut out in the middle of the night.

Walking to the bathroom, Shaw turned on the shower. The steam from the water started to fill the tiny room and she got under the water. Today, she didn't have to work so it didn't matter that she had slept in till noon. It was also easier that Root cut out first because she got the motel room all to herself. When she was done she walked back to the bed and checked her phone.

She had five missed calls, all from work.

"Shit," Shaw exclaimed and checked her voicemails. They were all from early in the morning.

"Shaw, we need you right away. Call me back as soon as you get this." The voicemail beeped and Cole's voice was heard on the other line. Her co-worker seemed stressed. It was unlike Cole to seem so tense. He was a pretty happy go lucky guy and that always got on Shaw's nerves. Especially, when she had to go on patrols with him.

 **Beep.**

The phone clicked and the voicemails continued.

 _"Shaw, where the hell are you? We need backup. Call me back."_

 **Beep.**

 _"Shaw, we're short staffed, we need you a.s.a.p. Call me."_

 **Beep.**

 _"We made an arrest, we need you down at the Precinct."_

 **Beep.**

 _"Shaw, Call me."_

The voicemails ended. Immediately, Shaw dialed Cole back. Her first instinct was an intense need to get ahold of Cole as fast as possible. A good soldier is there for their squad and she wasn't there for Cole or the station last night.

"Hello, Shaw? Where were you!?" Cole was heard on the other line, "Well, never mind, you missed it." He sounded deflated at the end.

"Missed what?" Shaw's sense of urgency dissipated but she still was hurriedly laying her clothes on the bed. Unfortunately, all she had was what she had worn last night. The tight dress and the heels.

She had gotten a Lyft with Root to the motel and didn't even bring a change of clothes. She was going to need an Lyft back to the club to pick up her car and to drive back to her apartment to change. It was going to be awhile before she could get to the station anyway.

"We had a break in at the Museum of Film History last night, followed by a car chase."

"I miss all the fun." Shaw mumbled as Cole continued.

"We blocked off the road but the culprit still got away. We made some arrests that need questioning. So, get down here, ok?"

"Alright, I'll be there."

"Just get here fast. The boss isn't happy."

"Right, Simmons is an ass," Shaw said. He was an uptight boss and normally that wouldn't have been a problem for Shaw. It was just that something seemed off about him and Shaw couldn't really put her finger on it.

"Ok, agreed, but get here fast or I'm the one who's going to get it if you don't show up today." Cole sighed and the phone went dead.

Shaw hung up, tossing her phone on the bed, she took a good look at her dress lying over the unmade blankets. Pulling it on, she reached for her phone to get another Lyft. She had to admit, last night beat out a car chase.

Shaw arrived through the front door of the police station an hour and a half later. She knew that it didn't make her look good, not showing up for an emergency call last night, and showing up so late after actually getting ahold of Cole.

"He's questioning the suspect," Laskey, a young officer informed Shaw as she walked in the door. Making a b-line for the back office that was meant for an interrogation room, Shaw found Cole outside the door.

"The suspect is in there," Cole nodded towards the door, "She's alone for now, I'm trying to make her sweat. So, I'm taking my time getting back in there."

"Any details?"

"Yeah, I arrested her this morning near the road that we had blocked off."

"What are the charges?"

"Right now, just holding her on an expired car registration until we can get anything else off of her. I have a feeling she has something to do with everything that went on last night."

"Uh-huh, anything that makes you think that Sherlock?" Shaw said, not believing him for a minute. Arresting a random person and keeping them under bullshit charges was in no way a great idea. If this was a bigger city this wouldn't have worked but it was around the holidays in a small little town off of Route 66, so, whatever.

"She was the only one on the road this morning and I've never seen her before."

"Bullshit, Cole. We're going to get sued if you keep on making arrests like that."

"Its off season for tourists, even if she didn't do it, she could have seen the person that did." Cole continued his excuses.

"Well, got any answers off of her?"

"Not exactly."

"Ok, so what happened last night while I was gone?" Shaw asked, genuinely curious. She should have asked that first when she came in but Cole was extremely worked up over his arrest.

"Yeah, right, last night the Museum of Film History was broken into and the suspect fled the scene. A priceless ruby ring was stolen. We attempted to pull over the suspect but they took off and we ended up shutting a road down to attempt to trap them."

"Where does you're suspect come in?"

"I arrested her driving near the locked down road. She was the only one in the area, mostly everyone in the center of town is still asleep besides the occasional truck driver."

"Ok," Shaw was processing the information. Maybe, the arrest didn't seem so far fetched after all. She was a little disappointed she missed a car chase though, "What kind of car was the suspect driving when they fled the museum?"

"A grey Honda," Cole looked disappointed, "She wasn't driving a Honda but a white Pontiac. The suspect had time to change cars in the middle of the chaos. It took us a while to shut down the road. We were understaffed."

"Ok," Shaw knew the understaffed dig was partly aimed at her and she deserved it.

"Got any good info out of her?"

"No, that's the problem. She keeps on rambling about some weird stuff. I can't figure out if she's just crazy or if she actually believes what she's saying."

"Want me to take a crack at it?"

"Be my guest, Shaw," Cole said, walking her to the closed door that held the suspect inside. He opened it and Shaw walked in first and Cole followed in behind her.

The woman's left wrist was handcuffed to the desk, she was turned away from them but Shaw recognized her immediately. Her silhouette was etched in Shaw's memory. The woman turned to them and smiled.

"Hi, sweetie," The woman's eyes burned right through Shaw, glinting as mischievously as they did last night in the motel room. The woman handcuffed in the room was Root.

Shaw didn't let Root sitting in the room phase her. The handcuffs were a little unnecessary though and Shaw moved to remove them. This whole situation was extremely unprofessional. The grounds on why Cole arrested Root and the entire reason why she probably ended up driving through the center of the city so early in the morning.

"I'm Officer Shaw," Shaw said, removing the handcuff from Root's wrist and sitting down across from her.

"Officer Shaw," Root repeated as though she was feeling out the name. Cole stood at Shaw's side.

"Can you repeat to me what you were doing last night at 3am?" Cole asked. Root immediately turned to Shaw and raised her eyebrows.

"What was I _doing_ last night at 3am?" Root repeated but she didn't seem to be asking either Shaw or Cole but restating the question for herself, adding emphasis to the word 'doing' much to Shaw's displeasure, "Do you want to tell him or should I?" Root asked Shaw with a lopsided grin.

Shaw plopped her keys down on her kitchen table. It was midnight and she just got off of work. It had been a long day. She had told Cole what she was up to last night herself without any intervention from Root. Unfortunately, she had to pull Cole outside of the interrogation room and tell him. One thing she didn't want was for Root to add any details. This whole situation was less than professional.

When Shaw told Cole about her night with Root, the whole hookup took awhile to process through his mind. It was really no one's business what she did in her off hours. Shaw tried to tell him in the most boring and to the point way as possible, but she knew it still sounded bad. He had rubbed his temples with his thumbs before letting out a sigh.

"You're going to be the one who's going to have to fill out the report, ok?"

"Yeah, ok." Shaw had shrugged. She'd rather be the one to do it anyway. It wasn't going to look good for either of them.

Cole went back in the interrogation room, left the door open, and went in to tell Root that she could leave. She was free to go with her charge dropped. She couldn't have been the one to commit a break in and neither one of the officers were in the mood to ask if she had seen any suspicious activity in the area.

On the way out the door, Root had given Shaw a satisfied grin followed up by the most uncoordinated wink Shaw had ever seen in her life. This day had been one interesting 24 hours.

The whole ordeal took Shaw completely by surprise. Shaw never expected to see Root again beyond last night. Cole was angry at her, he had let her handle the police report and it gave Shaw several hours away from him. That was one thing she was grateful for. She then had to complete her night patrolling the streets.

It snowed the next day and it had been horrible to drive in it. The snowplows where just getting on the road when Shaw pulled up to her favorite sandwich shop. Ice was everywhere in the parking lot. Despite the road conditions, she wasn't going to let it get in the way of ordering her favorite sandwich.

Feeling relieved that she had gotten the day off after yesterday, Shaw walked into the restaurant. A steady flow of customers was already arriving for breakfast. Shaw recognized all the regulars and the employees recognized her as soon as she stepped foot in the door. She didn't even need to place her order, it was already logged in the register when she was the next customer to order.

"Good to see you Officer Shaw," The young employee said with a wide grin. He was one of the young men that she had caught trying to break into a car. She had handcuffed him and brought him to her police car, had given him a stern warning, and let him go. He seemed to be forever grateful... or scared. It might have been a combination of the two. She was in no mood to small talk with him.

"Yeah, here's a ten, keep the change." She said bluntly. He seemed to get the hint and took the cash without another word.

Shaw stood to the side and waited for her order. The whole place was decorated for Christmas, complete with a tree and festive lights. To her it just meant that there was going to be more reported thefts in the area. She was looking forward to the rise in crime keeping her busy.

"Order 76," The young man said and handed Shaw her sandwich from behind the counter. She gave him a polite nod and found an empty table to sit in.

"Mind if I join you?"

Shaw heard a familiar voice behind her and she turned her neck uncomfortably to see who it was.

"You again?" Shaw was surprised to see Root standing in the restaurant, holding a cup of coffee. Root sat down at Shaw's table without waiting for an answer.

"Officer Sameen Shaw," Root smiled at her.

"Look, Root, right?" Shaw said, unwrapping her sandwich.

"Right." Root said, continuing to watch Shaw.

"I don't know what you're expecting and I'm sorry about you getting arrested." Shaw took a big bite out of her sandwich and swallowed before continuing, "But I'm not looking into anything more than what we had that night."

"You think I'm stalking you, Sameen?" Root took a small sip of her coffee and waited for an answer.

"Well, yeah." Shaw wasn't sure what Root was doing here. In the seconds that Root decided to sit down with her, Shaw was sure Root was going to ask her out.

"Hmm, maybe I was?" Root said.

"What?" Maybe Shaw was right, now she had a crazy stalker on her hands, "I can have you arrested for that." She wasn't sure what to think of Root. Where the hell did she even come from?

"Sounds like fun," Root just cocked her head to the side.

"Order 79." The young man behind the counter said and Root got up from the table. Taking another bite of her sandwich, Shaw watched Root take her order and sit right back down with her.

They both ate in silence. Shaw was too busy enjoying her sandwich then to let Root ruin her meal. Root didn't seem to mind the silence sitting across from her. She had picked out all her black olives and scooted them to the side. She also seemed to calculate before taking each bite of her food. Shaw finished eating way ahead of Root and found it interesting watching her.

"I'm not looking for a date or a girlfriend," Shaw finally said, breaking the silence.

"That's good, neither am I," Root put down her food, "I'm only here for a couple of days."

"And how does that concern me?" Shaw asked, getting annoyed that this encounter was starting to drag on now that she didn't have food to distract her.

"I thought that maybe you were looking into a little fun?" Root finished and scooted the second half of her sandwich towards Shaw.

Shaw looked at the sandwich cautiously. Was she going to let this woman into her life for the next couple of days? Maybe, it didn't seem so bad. She did have fun the other night and Root was going to leave soon. There was nothing dangerous about that.

"I can do fun." Shaw said, taking the sandwich and looking up at Root, making her decision. Something about Root made her ignore all the warning bells that went off in her head. It didn't look like Root belonged in this entire town but Shaw didn't care.

The morning was cold and Root was bundled up in a peacoat, scarf, and beanie. She looked over at Shaw in the driver's seat. The heat was blasted in the car and they were slowly making their way to Shaw's apartment.

Root had convinced Shaw to let her stay at her place for the remaining nights that she was in town. It was actually less convincing and more that she followed Shaw to her car and got in, asked where they were going, and invited herself over. It was that kind of thing. Root knew that she was pushing her luck with every second. She could get arrested at any time but that's what made it fun.

Finally, Shaw pulled over to an apartment complex and they got out of the car. Root followed Shaw into a tiny apartment. There wasn't much inside. A kitchen, a table, a couch, a tv, speakers, and a hallway leading to a bedroom. It wasn't decorated and it barely looked like anyone lived in the place.

Root took off her jacket, scarf, and beanie. Shaw took them without a word and walked off to put them somewhere. It gave Root a chance to get a better look around.

"Interesting apartment, sweetie," Root walked over to the speakers and found a connection for a phone. "Did you just move here?"

"Kind of." Shaw walked back into the main living space and sat on the couch ignoring Root. "Six months."

"Ah, ok." Root took her phone out and connected it to the speakers. She flipped through her music library and found some music that was playing at the club that night. She then played it and walked back to the couch where Sameen was sitting.

Sameen just watched her. Root couldn't tell what she was thinking, it was hard to get a read on her. Root couldn't tell at what moment she was about to push the line too far.

"Where did you come from?" Shaw finally asked.

"Texas." Root sat down next to Shaw.

"Oh," Shaw said simply. Not seeming to want to extend the conversation.

"Is that surprising?" Root asked, resting her head on the back of the couch. She took a good look at Sameen. She was more casual than the night when they first met. Sameen was wearing a black tank top despite the cold weather outside and her hair was in a low ponytail. She was extremely beautiful.

"Yeah." Shaw shrugged, "How did you get here?"

"Passing through for work," Root said, telling the truth. The thing was, Root just needed an alibi that night. She wasn't planning to spend more than a day here. She was just passing through town, needed to get a quick gig, and was going to be on her way.

"Beer?" Shaw changed the subject.

"No, thank you." Root watched as Shaw was about ready to get up and grabbed her hand, preventing her from moving. "You're not letting me stay for awkward small talk." Root stated.

"Yeah, I'm not," Shaw said, not moving to pull her hand away.

"Good," Root moved closer until they were inches away from each other. She let her hands wonder to Sameen's shoulders, "Because I want a little more than awkward small talk."

"Me too," Shaw said, and Root could hear the smile in her voice.

It was late afternoon on the same day and Root was laying on the couch in a t-shirt and underwear. Shaw was making them hot cocoa in the kitchen, making it from scratch and said that it wasn't any of that 'packaged shit,' from the store. Root didn't really care about the hot chocolate. She was enjoying the view of Shaw in her boy shorts and bra.

Root got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. She was having fun. It was rare that she'd spend time with anyone that she slept with but she wondered what it would be like with Sameen. Shaw was a cop, every second Root was pushing her luck, and every second had been worth it. It wasn't just for the thrill of it but because Root found Sameen to be interesting.

"Need help, Shaw." Root walked up behind Sameen.

"No, sit back down," Shaw huffed.

"Oh, are you giving the orders now?" Root placed her hands on Shaw's waist.

"Yes, now sit down." Shaw wiggled out of Root's grip.

Root did as she was told. She found out that when talking about food, Shaw was extremely serious. She should have guessed it at the sandwich shop this morning.

After a few minutes, Shaw placed a mug in front of Root. The mug was plain but the hot chocolate was complete with whip cream and sprinkles.

"It looks delicious," Root said, genuinely telling the truth. She took the mug and let the warmth of it warm her hands.

The hot chocolate was as delicious as it looked and Root drank every drop of it. Shaw sat with her on the couch and had turned on the Christmas movie Jingle all the Way . It was the only Christmas movie Shaw said she was able to stand.

Root glanced at Shaw between the commercials in the movie. She didn't lie when she said she was stalking Shaw. She had read Shaw's file and knew what places she frequented but sitting with her on the couch like this made her human. It made her more than the beautiful woman at the nightclub and more than the cop. Shaw was more than the woman she already slept with twice.

Root slept on the couch that night. She was a little too long for it and she woke up feeling sore. The apartment was empty and Root vaguely remembered Shaw mumbling something to her before walking out the door in full police uniform. She knew Shaw had went to work.

Getting up from the couch, Root walked over to the bedroom and plopped down on the bed. She was going to get her remaining hours of sleep in a nice comfy bed. Quickly, she faded from consciousness and fell back asleep.

Several hours later she woke up. It was still before noon and she walked over to the kitchen to get herself a cup of coffee. While it was brewing, she looked in the corner of the kitchen and found a tiny laptop stashed away. She knew that Sameen had a laptop because she had traced her IP several times before getting here.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and booted up the laptop. It was nothing fancy but it would do for now. She made sure Shaw couldn't trace anything back to this little device and logged into her own accounts. It seemed like everything was going as planned. Logging off from the computer, she stashed it back in the corner she found it in.

Yawning, she walked to the bathroom and showered. She'd have to change back into the clothes she arrived in. Also, she'd have to buy a toothbrush on her way out. When Sameen didn't stop her from coming home with her at the sandwich shop it was a surprise for Root. She just tried it on a whim and she actually didn't get kicked out.

She changed back into her underwear and her t-shirt before taking a quick look around to where Shaw had put her coat. She found it in Sameen's closet and quickly put her hand in the breast pocket. She had shewn in the tiny hidden compartment ages ago. Finding the metallic object she was looking for, Root pulled it out. She pulled out a ruby ring, smiled at herself, and placed it back in the coat.

Speeding down the road, Shaw had her police sirens blaring. Cole was in the car with her and they had just gotten a call for a robbery at the local bank.

"This is crazy," Cole yelled as they slid to a stop at the front of the bank, "We never get this many calls here."

"I know," Shaw said, stepping out of the car and pulling out her handgun. The robbery might still be taking place inside. Cole followed her as they ran in the door. People where cowering on the ground and a lady shakily stood up and pointed out the back door.

"They went that way," she said and in no time Shaw and Cole bolted to where she was pointing. It was too late. Whoever had robbed the place was gone and even when Shaw and Cole got back to their police car to try to catch up to the suspect, they couldn't find anyone on the road. They had to go back and interview witnesses and gather security camera footage.

Back at the station, Cole sat at his desk shaking his head. Sameen walked up to him and leaned against it. The security footage was wiped and all the witnesses could say was a masked robber came in and stole some wads of hundreds. It wasn't helpful.

Shaw didn't know what else to do but she had a hunch and maybe it was time to look into it.

"Hey, can you do something for me?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Remember, that woman, Root?" Shaw asked. It was time she fully checked out her guest.

"Yeah." Cole responded, he almost seemed to wince at the memory.

"Run the plates on her car again and give me the report."

"Sure." Cole was about ready to get up.

"Oh, and I need your results by the end of the day," Shaw said, she knew that she only had a small window of time to find anything that was suspicious.

That morning Shaw had woken up and found Root still on her couch. Surprised to find that Root had stayed the night, she had expected Root to cut and run again. This time Shaw wasn't going to ignore that strange feeling in her gut. She knew Root didn't belong in this town. She was too pretty, too daring, and exactly what Shaw needed. She was too good to be true.

Shaw made the decision to look into Root when she got to the station. She wasn't expecting to get sidetracked by a robbery. That had never happened here for as long as she was stationed here. It seemed to be that way for Cole too. He had been here several years and told her this was the most activity he had ever seen.

Saying that Root was somehow connected to all of this would be a stretch. Physically Root seemed non-threatening. Although, it was still her job to figure out who was behind the break in at the museum and the robbery that just occurred today. Even if it was far fetched Shaw had to look into it.

Cole came up to Shaw when she was filing away the interviews from the robbery a few hours later.

"Your going to want to take a look at this," Cole said, as he handed Shaw an envelope.

"Thanks." Shaw moved to her own desk, wanting to look over the materials by herself. The name on the plates didn't match anyone living or even anyone that vaguely fit the description of Root. The papers had been falsified and Shaw was going to have to figure out why and by who.

The new clothes fit perfect and Root had a small suitcase filled with everything she needed for at least one more night. She had brought her rental car over and parked it in the apartment parking spaces. Bringing some personal items with her, she had everything she needed.

Every nerve in her body told her it was time to move on but she was having fun. She even did that last job on her own. She normally scouted out her location and hired others to pull off her elaborate schemes but today she was feeling good. She even did it in broad delight, without an alibi, and without a back-up plan.

In a way she kinda wanted Sameen to see her. She had a mask but she knew that she'd stick out like a sore thumb. Root knew that as soon as Sameen laid eyes on her she'd know who it was. She wanted to see the look on her face when Shaw found out.

Root never cared about her own safety and didn't care if she got caught or if she died. Maybe, she was staying here because of Shaw or maybe it was because she was getting tired of running. She knew Shaw was different. Something about her threw Root off. Root didn't even need the money anymore and there was no real reason for her to stay.

Shaw came home at two in the morning. Root had made herself comfortable in Shaw's bed. She woke up to the heavy stomp of footsteps. Her eyes were adjusted to the light but she knew that Shaw's eyes weren't yet. It was just the way Shaw was standing and the way she scanned the bed.

"Hey, sweetie," Root said and sat up, watching as Shaw's head followed her movements.

"Root?" Shaw said, cutting through the darkness.

"Still here." Root grabbed Shaw's hand and pulled her towards her, looking forward to sleeping with Shaw in the bed this time. Shaw was still wearing her police uniform and Root moved to unbuckle her belt. Shaw let her and started unbuttoning her uniform. Root tossed the belt to the empty side of the bed.

"Root," Shaw whispered this time and pushed Root down on the bed, still half clothed in her police uniform. She unbuttoned Root's pajama top and ran her hand over Root's bare chest but it didn't feel sexual. It felt like Shaw was looking for something.

"Something the matter, Sameen?" Root asked, letting Shaw run her hands where she wanted to. Shaw checked the elastic of Root's pajama bottoms too but didn't seem to find what she was looking for either. Root watched as Shaw stormed off into the hallway, turning on the hallway light. Root heard something unzip and she knew Shaw had found her suitcase.

Less than five minutes later Shaw stormed back in, the only light still coming from the hallway. Shaw plopped back on the bed and got on top of Root, pinning Root's arm's above her head with one hand, and kissed her deeply, until they were both breathless.

Root felt Shaw shift on top of her and felt Shaw pull away. When Root opened her eyes she was staring at a ring.

"Is this what I think it is?" Shaw asked, breathless. She was holding the ring belonging to the Museum of Film History. It had belonged to a famous actress, now dead. A collector now owned it but they had given it to the museum on a loan. The ruby glinted dimly in the low light.

"It's exactly what you think it is," Root responded, waiting to see what Shaw was going to do next. She had Root's wrists pinned to the bed with one hand and she was holding the ring in the other.

"So, it really wasn't a coincidence that you found me at that club," Shaw stated.

"No. I picked you," Root said, watching Shaw's face but she was unreadable.

"Because I'm a cop?" Shaw asked, this time she looked angry.

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting you to be so…" Root trailed on.

"So, what?"

"I don't know?" Root finished. She knew it wasn't a good idea to stay but she did it anyway.

Shaw let go of Root's wrists and placed the ring between them, taking a good look at it.

"You're trying to play Catch Me if You Can?" Shaw looked at Root again. Root stayed with Shaw, eye's locked.

Root knew that she had tossed Shaw's belt with her gun holster right next to her on the bed. She knew that she now had a chance to try to reach the hand gun. She slowly started to move her hands, one to Shaw's chin, distractingly, the other to the gun.

"I'm sorry, you get to be Tom Hanks." Root smiled, inching her way towards the gun holster.

"Oh, so that makes you Leonardo Dicaprio?"

"Well, not exactly. I'm not a expert forger but I am a pretty good thief and a liar." Root quickly grabbed the handgun, she only had one shot at this. Root knew it was a just a chance but she had to try it anyway. One thing she had never done was jail time and that was something that wasn't in Root's plans.

Shaw was too fast for her, Root wasn't even able to get the gun out of the holster. As Root pulled it toward her, Sameen grabbed the gun. They struggled for it briefly on the bed before Shaw wrenched it out of Root's hands with one swift movement. Shaw drew the gun out of the holster and pointed it at Root.

Sitting up and scooting back towards the headboard, Root put her hands up, "Y'know the safety is on."

"Shut up," Shaw said, swiftly taking off the safety.

"I know you're bored here." Root continued, she didn't move and stared directly into Shaw's eyes. It was impossible to read Shaw in this moment, she was wearing her soldiers mask. The stone cold look that let Root know that she meant business.

"Shut up." Shaw repeated.

"I know this isn't the life you wanted here," Root said, she was testing her luck again, "Someone like you wants a little more. I can give you that."

"And you plan to do that how?" Shaw didn't budge.

"Come with me." This was Root's last chance.

"You're under arrest," Shaw ignored Root, "Go get changed, I'm taking you down to the station."

They were both still in a state of half undress. Shaw got up off the bed and pulled Root up by the arm, still holding the gun. Root decided to listen to her. She went to her suitcase and picked out a black bra, a dark red top, and some jeans. Shaw followed her fixing her uniform as she waited for Root to change in the hallway.

"Can I ask one thing?" Root was finally changed and she stood in the hallway, casually leaning against the wall.

"What?" Shaw walked up to her and pulled the handcuffs from her belt. She took Root by the arm, spinning her around, and then tightening the handcuffs over her wrists.

"Did you have fun?" Root asked, wincing slightly as one of the handcuffs pinched her skin.

It was quiet for a moment and Root didn't think Shaw was going to answer.

"Yeah," Shaw said, breaking the silence.

Officer Sameen Shaw was back at the station. Root was locked up behind bars and Shaw was at her desk filling out her report on what happened.

This whole thing had started on a hunch. She actually had no clue that Root actually had the ring but it wasn't a surprise. Root's suitcase also contained several stacks of hundreds and a mask that matched the description of the robber at the bank. It was true that Root really was too good to be true.

Shaw finished off her report and personally handed it over to her boss. Simmons just acknowledged her with a nod and a mumbled 'good job.' He wasn't big on praising Shaw because she wasn't one of his favorites. It wasn't something Shaw cared about because she did her job and that was always good enough for her.

"Hey, got a minute?" Cole had just entered the station as Shaw was walking out of Simmon's office.

"Yeah." Shaw said.

"Ok, meet me in the back conference room in ten minutes?"

"Sure." Shaw agreed, not sure what was going on. Cole seemed giddy with excitement but Shaw didn't know why. The guy also got giddy when going for their weekly ice cream run while out patrolling the streets together. It was probably nothing important.

After waiting for ten minutes Shaw walked into the conference room and found Cole waiting with a laptop sitting on the long meeting table. A woman was on the screen and she appeared to be streaming live from another location.

Cole quickly walked behind Shaw and closed the door behind her and closed the blinds to the room.

"Hello, Officer Shaw," The woman on the screen said. Shaw walked up to the screen and stared at the woman before the woman continued, "You can call me Control."

"What is this?" Shaw asked, she had no idea what was going on.

"My apologies for meeting virtually. I'm here to offer you a job."

"A job?" Now Shaw was really confused.

"Yes, you see, I know about you Officer Shaw. You did great work in Afghanistan and you are an exceptional police officer. I just heard about your latest arrest."

"I informed her," Cole chimed in.

"Yes, and we were wondering why someone with your credentials would settle for a position in the police force when you could come work for the government."

"What?"

"You see, Cole was assigned to watch you and we like what we see. You could be working to neutralize national threats on a much larger scale than you can imagine. Does that interest you?"

"Yes," Shaw said, it started to make a little bit of sense now. This was the first step in a job interview. This 'Control' was the person set out to hire Shaw and she worked for the U.S. government. It looked like Cole was much more than he first appeared too. He wasn't just a police officer in a boring town.

"Good, I know I'm throwing this out to you a little fast so I'll give you some time to process it. You don't have to accept the job offer right away. When you're ready, let Cole know and we will move on to the next steps in the process.

"Thank you," Shaw really didn't know what to say, this was all really sudden.

"Oh, and officer, good job on that arrest," Control said, "Have a good day," and with that the screen went blank.

Shaw turned to Cole who had a wide smile on his face. He walked up to shake Shaw's hand.

"Congratulations partner! If you have any questions just ask me," He said and patted Shaw on the back.

"Ok," Shaw said, just hours ago she was handcuffing Root, a thief who managed to weasel her way into Shaw's bed. Now, she was offered a job position as some type of government something? A spy or a government assassin? Shaw really didn't understand the details yet. "You were in on this the whole time?"

"Yeah, surprise," Cole was still beaming. Shaw just rolled her eyes. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"What the hell is the job?" Shaw blurted out.

"Right now, its classified but once you accept the offer we can go through the steps to get you the clearance needed," Cole said and shrugged.

"So, basically you can't really tell me anything." Shaw was even more intrigued by the job offer. If she really thought about it, it was better than staying a cop here. She really enjoyed working as a soldier and would have made it as a career military officer if it was her choice. Certain circumstances didn't play out and she had to go back to civilian life. This was possibly a way back in and Shaw was more than interested.

"Exactly," Cole took the laptop from the table.

"Wait, did Root have anything to do with this?" Shaw asked. Everything seemed a little crazy. Could Root have been involved?

"What? No." Cole answered, resting the laptop under his arm, "She had nothing to do with this personally, but I did recommend you for the job for the way you did the footwork on the arrest. You thought on your feet, found the right thief, and you have the military background that we are looking for."

"Alright." Shaw thought that was fair. In a way she was hoping Root was in on it. That this was just an elaborate test.

"I know it's been a lot for you so I'll give you awhile to think about it." Cole left the room leaving Shaw alone. She went back to her desk knowing that she had a lot to think about.

The ruby ring that Root had stolen was still in an evidence bag resting on top of her paperwork. Shaw wondered what Root was doing now. They had vastly different days. Everything was going right for Shaw but Root was spending the night behind bars.

Shaw was starving, she had a long day at work and one of the best job offers she had ever gotten was still fresh in her mind. Driving back to her apartment, she decided to stop for something to eat. Her favorite sandwich shop was still her number one choice.

Pulling up to the parking lot to the restaurant, she got down and entered through the front door. The sandwich shop was steady, the same boy from the other day was at the register again. Like the other day, her order was already punched in when she went to order.

"Hi, Officer Shaw," The boy said and Shaw rolled her eyes. She handed him the exact change this time and went to sit down and wait for her order.

The table that she had sat in with Root was empty and she pulled up a chair. Looking around, she scanned the place to see if she could spot a familiar brunette. No one in the building vaguely resembled Root. Her order was called and she went to go pick it up, sitting back down at the table. Today, no mysterious voice interrupted her while she was eating.

Shaw wanted to think about her new job and what exactly the change of occupation could mean for her. The problem was, her mind kept playing back the moments she had with Root. She remembered the night she saw Root at the nightclub. Root was wearing a blue dress that dropped in a wide v down her chest and her eyes sparkled dangerously as she smiled. Shaw was immediately drawn to her.

The next memory that came was the last time Shaw was at this restaurant. Root had surprised her again and had shown up out of the blue. She had sat down in the chair across from her and basically just invited herself over to stay at Shaw's. It was a bold move and Shaw had found that extremely attractive.

Quickly, Shaw took the last few bites of her sandwich. Root was not supposed to be on her mind. She didn't care about Root or that she was going to be locked up for a very long time. Root was a liar and a thief. She wasn't attractive or fun or dangerous and led an interesting life. Nope. Shaw was a cop and Root was a criminal.

It was Root's own interest in Shaw that got Root burned. That was it. Shaw wasn't vaguely interested in her. Shaw told herself that one last time and walked out of the restaurant.

When Shaw got back to her apartment the memories of Root still flooded back to her. She hadn't been back since she arrested Root that night. The hot chocolate mugs were still in the sink and the bed was still left unmade. Shaw stripped down to her boy shorts and a tank top and flopped down on the bed. The pillowcase still smelled like Root's shampoo.

"Dammit, Root." Shaw mumbled to herself. She should be thinking about if she wanted to accept Control's job offer but instead her mind kept wandering to Root.

Two weeks later and Shaw was back to the same old routine. She was in her police car, fingers frozen as she watched a slow moving car pass by her within the speed limit. She wasn't going to get any action tonight. Shaw sighed, opening up some disposable hand warmers and placing them inside her gloves.

Cole had gone on vacation for Christmas and had left out of state for the next two weeks. He left Shaw a phone number to get ahold of him but she was thinking of waiting until he got back. Right now, It was as if those really hectic few days didn't even happen at all. It almost felt like a dream.

Root had been transferred to a women's prison far away in another state. It made it difficult because her identity had been hard to track down. She was under so many aliases that it was hard for the court system to make sense of her.

In the end, Root ended up escaping two days ago during one of the transfers. Her and the ring just vanished. By that point it was no longer Shaw's problem. Cole had called her to tell her and that it didn't change the job offer. It was still on the table but Shaw hadn't bothered to call him back.

It was strange, that when Shaw first got the offer she was extremely intrigued by it. She couldn't wait to get a change of scenery and some adrenaline pumping action. But the new job wasn't where her mind was at. It should have been but it wasn't.

Shaw's watch beeped at 11pm, alerting her that she was now off. She sighed, started her police car and drove off into the main center of the town. The entire downtown was decorated for Christmas, complete with lights and trees. It looked nice even if Shaw wasn't much for decorating. She drove slowly and stopped at a red light at an intersection. The town had become quiet again after Root left.

Back at her apartment, Shaw fixed herself a late night protein shake. She had a football game playing in the background as she finished blending her shake. Her phone rang and she almost missed it because of the noise from the tv and the blender.

"Hello," Shaw answered, pouring the liquid of her shake in a glass.

"Shaw?" A voice on the other line responded. Shaw knew that voice without her having to say another word.

"Root," Shaw stated bluntly. She had to admit, it was a little bit of a surprise that Root called. Shaw wasn't expecting to hear from her at all and thought that the whole arresting her thing would have turned Root off to her. Root was full of the unexpected, though.

"Work doing well for you?" Root asked on the other line. Shaw could hear muffled voices in the background. She must have been out somewhere in public.

"Just peachy," Shaw rinsed the top plastic piece of her blender and put it in the sink, "Thieving doing well for you?"

"Depends, are you thinking of arresting me again, Officer Shaw?"

"You're not my problem anymore," Shaw was just saying the facts. Root wasn't currently in her town so it really wasn't her problem. Tracing Root's phone number wasn't on Shaw's top ten things to do either.

"Do you want me to be?"

"Do you want me to hang up right now?" Shaw was rolling her eyes now. She couldn't believe that Root was calling to flirt with her over the phone. There had to be another reason why she was calling.

"No."

"You're calling for something, you hate awkward small talk as much as I do."

"I guess so, Sameen. I just wanted to tell you that my offer still stands. You want to run away with me?"

"Uh-huh, and just steal shit for the hell of it?"

"Well, there is the traveling and the danger, doesn't that beat out the life you have right now?"

The offer was intriguing and Root was amazing. It had been hard to get Root out of her mind but a life on the run doing the things that she had spent the majority of her adult life trying to prevent seemed counterproductive.

"Sounds fun but I'm going to have to say no." Shaw sat down on her couch, she took a big gulp of her shake before continuing, "I have a better job offer lined up."

"Hmm, and what job offer is that?"

"Can't say," Shaw responded.

"Government, right?" Root said on the other line, the voices in the back faded away.

"At this point I'm not surprised that you know that," Shaw said genuinely. She was starting to get used to the unexpected. "Where are you now?" Shaw changed the subject.

"Getting into my hotel room. I'm in New York." Root said and paused for a couple of seconds, "You want to know what I did with that ring?"

"What did you do with it?" Shaw was curious, it wasn't her problem to find Root or the ring anymore but she would like to know.

"I gave it back to its rightful owner." Root sounded smug.

"How do you know that?"

"I have my ways."

Shaw knew her ways were probably illegal and the worst person to tell that to was a cop. Shaw already figured out that Root was a hacker. It had to be the reason why Root knew more information than she should. The small laptop that Shaw had also had some clues. Shaw rarely used it and it had been misplaced, the dust was gone from the top of it, and it made sense that Root had done some of her dealings on it when she was here.

"Care to explain?"

"You know that actress that the ring belonged to?" Root continued.

"Yeah."

"Well she has a great granddaughter. The inheritance was meant for her and she's currently in a New York homeless shelter."

"That sucks."

"I'm just in the process of returning it. You see, her already rich brother in law had the will altered. I was hired by a concerned citizen to put everything back where it should be."

"So, you're telling me that you're playing Robin Hood?"

"Something like that, Sameen. Everything isn't always the way it is seems on the surface. People hire me that have already gone through traditional methods of the law but have hit a snag somewhere along the way."

"What about the bank robbery?" Shaw asked, taking in this information.

"You should really investigate your boss's bank statements. The people that you are working for aren't the best cops in the world."

"And you're better?"

"Depends on who you ask. I can be if you let me."

"So this is what you called me to say?"

"Yes, I'm here for a week, I'm going to leave my address with you. I'll let you decide what to do with it." Root finished.

The conversation ended. Root relayed her hotel address and hung up leaving Shaw alone again in her apartment. The football game continued to play in the background and she drained what was left of her shake. Shaw had already made up her mind. Picking up her phone again, she dialed a number on her speed dial list.

"Hey, Shaw, whats up?" A voice echoed on the other line.

"Cole, do you have a minute?"

It was the seventh day and the very last day that Root was going to be in New York. She had ordered herself a coffee at a nearby starbucks across from her hotel. Root was hoping to have seen Shaw somewhere along the way. Unfortunately, it was her last day here and Shaw had never shown up.

Looking on the bright side, at least Root wasn't swarmed with cop cars. Shaw could have very easily turned her into the New York police department. Maybe, Shaw really did have a soft spot for her even if it wasn't the one Root was looking for.

Root walked back to her hotel, the cold air from the New York streets cut through her and the coffee hadn't warmed her up completely. It had been freezing in New York since she got here. Shaw's little town wasn't any warmer, it was just that it seemed warmer spending a chilly December with someone else. New York seemed vacant in comparison even with so many people walking around everywhere.

With only two days left until Christmas, Root didn't really want to spend the holidays in New York. The city was going to be packed with tourists. First, for Christmas and then for New Years. She had already finished her job with the ring yesterday morning. Today, she was just waiting for her flight.

The airports were going to be overloaded with people too and she knew it. She'd rather be actively trying to travel instead of spending a boring holiday alone in her hotel room. The next couple of days would be more entertaining people watching in airports while she looked for another job.

Room service had already made up her bed and cleaned her room when she got back. Root walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower, while the water was heating up, she pulled a change of clothes from her suitcase and stripped down. The water felt good and got rid of the chill from the cold New York wind. She got out of the shower and changed.

Her suitcase was packed within minutes. She had been living out of one for years and packing had become the easiest part of the trip. Putting on her coat, gloves, and boots, she opened the door to her hotel room. Freezing in place, she stood at the open door, not expecting to see someone standing in the hallway.

"Hey," Shaw was standing across from her leaning on the wall casually.

"Hey," Root, said surprised. It was the last day and Root had given up hope that Shaw was ever going to show up. Now here she was standing in front of her hotel room.

"What took you so long? I knocked twenty minutes ago?" Shaw said, clearly irritated.

"I was in the shower, sweetie," Root said, she had not heard the knock at the door at all. At this point she didn't care if Shaw was just playing it cool, Root was just happy to see her here.

"Figures." Shaw rolled her eyes.

"What about your other job?"

"Turned it down the night you called me." Shaw shifted her weight, standing up from the wall she walked towards Root.

Root could see that Shaw had brought a black suitcase with her, she was carrying it in her right hand. The reality of what Shaw was doing here started to sink in. Root could feel the smile on her lips, she was at a loss of what to say back.

"Are you just going to stand there or are we going to get something to eat?" Shaw smiled back to Root's surprise as she handed Root her suitcase. Root placed the suitcase inside the hotel room and closed the door to the room behind her, meeting Shaw back in the hallway.

"Sandwiches?" Root asked.

"Yeah, sandwiches."

They walked down the hallway together to the elevator. Root had a wide smile, she was going to have to cancel her flight and extend her hotel stay.

"Hey, Merry Christmas, Sameen." Root turned to Shaw as the elevator doors closed.

The cold didn't bother Root anymore.

 **-END-**


End file.
